About:
Stars in Shadow is a turn-based 4X science fiction strategy game. Explore the stars, settle distant worlds,
and build an interstellar empire. Recover ancient technologies and negotiate with alien leaders. Created
by a pair of passionate strategy gamers, Stars in Shadow features streamlined empire management,
sophisticated turn-based tactical combat, and detailed world building. “A worthy tribute to the classic
Master of Orion games of times past.”

● Epic Scope:
Starting at the dawn of interstellar travel, progress through four eras of technological advancement.
Discover the science of planetary terraforming, upgrade your infantry battalions to battle mechs, and
grow your fleet from a squadron of destroyers to an armada of planet-destroying Dread Stars.

● Varied Factions:
7 Playable factions comprising six alien races. Each faction has different research strengths and
technology options. Forming alliances, conquering neighboring species, or discovering ancient artifacts
may open up additional avenues of research. Choose your race wisely as it impacts which worlds will
suit you, what trades or alliances may be offered, and whether or not your neighbors are inclined to
trust you.

● Stylized Setting:
A distinctive comic-book art style and an original, detailed universe backstory draw you into an
immersive game world. Interact with a unique cast of alien characters, make friends and influence
people, or crush your enemies and see them driven before you.

● Focused High-Level Strategy:
Build a vast and varied empire, taking advantage of the unique traits offered by different alien
populations and the worlds they inhabit. Experiments on a slave population might diminish your
popularity in the Galactic Council. A streamlined resource and planetary improvement model keeps
the game moving even when your empire grows large.

● Deep Turn-Based Tactical Combat:
Face off against your opponents in complex 2D turn-based tactical battles. Counter your enemy’s
missile barrage using point defense or interceptors, then close to energy weapon range! Stars in
Shadow’s tactical engine includes several features rarely seen in turn based games. Multi-ship
commands keep even large fleet battles fast-paced, and smart unit behaviors allow tight control with
minimal micromanagement. Auto-resolve battles that are a foregone conclusion, while retaining the
ability to replay any engagement to see exactly what happened.

About: It’s been three thousand years after the Great War and the collapse of the hyperspace lanes.
The galaxy is reawakening, thanks to an unknown influence who has restored the warp lanes back into
operation. Who restored the warp lanes, and for what purpose?

Legacies introduces a new playable faction, the cyborg Tinkers. The Tinkers are a race of cyborgs who
worship Dzibix, an ancient mega machine located on their arid homeworld of the same name. Dzibix is
-- or was -- an automated factory built by one of the ancient civilizations of the Golden Age.

The Tinkers worship Dzibix as a machine god and as result it has grown to cover most of the planet and
has achieved at least minimal self-awareness. To appease their machine god the dutiful Tinkers have
converted themselves into cyborgs and remade their society as a cybernetic civilization.

Tinkers’ ships have increased armor, self-repair capability, and special systems for handling missiles and
fighters. The Tinkers will have a custom home world and a full set of custom spaceships to build, and
will take special advantage of several new gameplay features.

Also joining the galaxy is new minor faction: the hyperspace-dwelling Arda Seed. The Arda Seed will
employ a number of new starship and station types, and make special use of several new gameplay
features.

The Arda Seed faction represents the next step in uncovering the story of the causes behind the Great
War, which will continue to be expanded upon in upcoming DLC.

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► ChangeLog

Patch 22151 (16 April 2018)
Fix for a bug that could incorrectly prevent planets from using 'City Planning'.
Fix for a bug that could occur after the AI disembarked transports.
Fixes for various bugs in the starvation warning feature.
Adjustments to the display rules for Tinkers fleets.

Patch 22090 (19 March 2018)
Gameplay Changes and Additions
Orthin 'Capacitor' hardpoints have been renamed as 'Busbar' hardpoints. The Orthin Dreadnaught now has only 1 Capacitor slot. (Old designs may need to be edited.)
Orthin ships equiped with Shield Capacitors now have access to the "Overcharge" and "Shield Boost" special abilities.
Orthin players can now unlock the 'Power Converter' busbar component after researching 'Zero-Point Energy'.
Colony ships can now colonize a planet if the colonists on board would be comfortable there, even if the owning faction's race would not.
Editing an outpost transport design now edits the design of the created outpost.
Outpost designs are no longer required to include a fuel depot.
Outpost designs that include Space Habitats can now embark colonists prior to deployment.
Outpost transports built in old saves will no longer function.
Colonists in deployed Space Habitats now consume food.
Viscid now have the 'vermin' trait, making them immune to starvation.
The 'Energy Refocusing' technology is being retired, and will not appear in new games.
Added the 'Supergrain Discovery' planetary event.
Reduced the frequency of some Star Harpy events.
The Phidi Torpedo destroyer, human Missile Cruiser, and human Battleship all now have 'Torpedo' rather than 'Missile' hardpoints.
It is now possible to place 'Blast Doors' and 'Scanners' in a Heavy hardpoint.
UI Changes and Additions
Added an empire territory overlay to the strategic map. It can be enabled or disabled with 'Show Empire Territory' in Options. The Empire Insignia displayed on the overlay can also be independently disabled.
Fleet destination lines can now be disabled with 'Show Fleet Route Lines' in Options.
Most options in the Map Settings screen now default to the values used in the most recent savegame.
Replaced the 'Pirate Activity' advanced setting with 'Raider Activity', which now also controls the level of Star Harpy activity.
A warning icon will now appear at systems blockaded by enemy ships.
In tactical combat, +healed numbers will now appear when ships regenerate shields or armor.
Clicking on a planet's special resource icon will now open the planet info entry for that resource.
Clicking on a fleet's empire icon will now start a conversation with that empire, if possible.
Fixes
Fix for a tech tree bug that could be triggered by reverse engineering Fusion Torpedoes while playing as Orthin or Gremak.
In the case that battle salvage unlocks techs that are impossible to research, the player will no longer receive a "tech unlocked" notification.
Fix for a bug that could be triggered when Vindicators retarget on a new ship.
Fix for a bug that was preventing the Shield Piercing abilities of the Force Lance from working as intended.
Removed redudant post-battle 'technology unlocked' notifications.
The components list should no longer show incorrect small craft graphics when designing planet defenses.
The 'hail fleet' option should no longer appear when an empire you are at war with attempts to colonize a planet.
It should no longer be possible for the food cost of City Planning to be negative.
Fix for a game state maintenance bug affecting battles in which the right-click inhibit weapon fire toggle had been used.

Patch 21910 (21 February 2018)
Changes and Additions
The Herald of the Arda Seed now tracks reputation with the player's faction, and available purchases are now dependent on reputation level.
Players may now purchase and discover Codexes, which unlock previously unavailable technologies for research.
The Tinkers' Bomber has been replaced by the Vindicator, which is an expendable multiple-warhead manned missile which can be launched from torpedo hardpoints as well as hangars.
Arda Seed Proteans will now use an offensive suicide attack after closing on enemy ships.
Added five new achievments related to the Legacies DLC.
The mining activity now provides +50% output per mine (up from +33%).
Earthquake random events are now limited to destroying at most 2 improvements.
Added the 'minerals discovery' random event.
Added the 'artifacts discovery' random event.
Increased Market Coin production from 4/7/12 to 5/10/15.
Increased second and third tier Factory Labor production.
Adjusted Dread Star production costs.
Added a 'hostile environment' upkeep cost for colonies in harsh environments. This new mechanic is suppressed in any game started prior to r21718 so that it will not affect existing saves.
AI empires should be less likely to choose to colonize hostile environment worlds.
Marauder factions should be less hostile to AI empires.
AI empires will now make use of outposts to extend range.
Increased the planetary bombardment power of carriers.
Fixes
Fix for a rare bug that could be triggered when Harpy fleets returned to their source HSA.
Losing a planet should now reliably resolve all pending construction complete warnings pertaining to that planet.
Fix for a bug caused by unresolved attacks against fleets belonging to a defeated empire.
Fixes for bugs that could be triggered by refitting ships while in the process of issuing a move order.
Fix for a production display bug affecting planets with space habitats.

Patch 21692 (15 December 2017)
Changes and Additions
Added new units for the Arda Seed: the Steward, Engineer, and Harpy Nest.
Arda Seed will now periodically reinforce, set up nests, and expand from systems they occupy.
Added autopsy reports for the Proteans and all the new Arda Seed units.
All Arda Seed units now have some inherent self-repair ability.
Updated railgun animation.
The Ashdar missile cruiser now has torpedo, rather than missile, hardpoints.
It is now possible to embark ground units to a Station equipped with assault shuttle bays.
Fixes
Building additional stations should no longer cause planets with Shipyards to lose their production discount.
Technologies gained from the Herald or a derelict colony should now be correctly removed from the research queue.
Fix for a bug that could prevent Star Harpy Autopsies from being awarded as intended.
Fix for a rare bug that could cause stations to attempt to attack themselves.
Missile hardpoints can no longer mount torpedoes.
Fixes for some sound and animation glitches affecting the Herald and Mediator ships.
Stations captured in tactical combat will now be destroyed at the end of the turn unless the planet they orbit is also captured.

Patch 21606 (6th November 2017)

Changes and Additions

Added new tactical background art for battles at Hyperspace Anomalies.
Added the "Herald" battlecruiser-class unit for the Arda Seed. The Herald will now use this instead of a Mediator.
Changed the behavior of Star Harpy swarm events: swarms are reduced on Easy difficulty, and Harpies will not attack planets.
Added several new Arda Seed-specific ship components.
Updated background art for the Tinkers leaders.
Bombers and Strike Fighters now carry regular missiles instead of torpedoes.
When scrapping a factory on a colony that has both factories and machine altars, factories are always scrapped before machine altars.
Mobile Bases and Asteroid Outposts now have specific description text.
Fixes

Fix for an error affecting certain Intel Iris graphics drivers.
Fix for a rare bug that could be triggered by rendering certain text strings (Juggernaut bug).
Fix for a display bug in the planet production info panes.
Fix for a layout problem in the planet production info panes; long colonist names should no longer overlap resource yields.
Fix for a bug that was preventing declaration of war notifications from appearing.
Fixes for some in game text errors (missing tooltips, etc.).
Fix for a bug that could be caused by allying with a player with access to hyperspace anomalies.
Fix for a bug that could be caused by opening the fleet list pane while at a hyperspace anomaly.
Fixed the on-click behaviors of the small icons in the agreement dialog panes.

-----------------------------------------

Update 21183 (4th October 2017)

Changes & Additions

Added a choice of Map Shape options (Box, Ring, Hourglass, Ellipse) to the Advanced Map Settings pane when creating a new game.
Added a number of new UI sound effects including: load/save game complete, colony founded, planet special discovery, war declaration, enslave, liberate, forced labor, experiments, and galaxy creation complete.
Added a 'Right Click Close' UI option to the Options pane.
'B' now acts as a hotkey for buying production on the currently selected planet.
There is now a "Hail Fleet" option that adds a diplomatic option when your fleet intercepts an alien colony ship attempting to land in the same system.
AI factions will now accept trades for some resources, provided that a fair offer is made.
Hiring mercenaries now costs influence, in addition to coins.
The influence cost of securing a peace treaty will now vary depending on how the other faction feels the war has been going.
All factions now receive 1 influence per turn if they have any contact with alien factions. When initially researched, Markets now increase trade capacity by 2 each (up from 0).

Fixes

Changed AI handling of three+ sided conflicts, should fix logic errors in AI code.
Reduced the frequency of several types of planet disaster events.
Fix for a formatting error when trading with marauder companies.
Made several low-level changes intended to work around problems with the latest AMD drivers.
In windowed mode, window resizing cursors should now appear when appropriate.
Altered the deficit handling rules -- forced scrapping now always yields some coin return.
Adjusted planet autobuild logic to favor Trade in situations where deficits are imminent.
AI players should now build more Markets during the late game.
Fix for a bug that could cause re-contacted empires to respond as if you'd just meet.

---------------------------------------------

Update 20909 (29th August 2017)

Changes

The technology tree view now has two additional zoom levels. Use the new zoom icon at upper right or the mousewheel to change zoom levels.
Phidi, Algorians and Pell now have the 'Friendly' racial trait, which eliminates the "Alien Rulers" morale penalty.
The shipbuilding cost discount provided by Shipyards no longer stacks (more than one Shipyard at a particular colony will provide no additional discount).
Surplus food is now converted to coins at a rate of 1/4 (rounded down).
Upkeep costs for all ground units have been halved.
Upkeep costs for most ships have been increased.
Upkeep costs for planet defenses greater than level 1 have been increased.
Mercenary upkeep costs are now visible in the mercenary hire overlay.
Ground unit upkeeps now appear as a seperate item in the economic on-hover text.
'Subspace Networking' now reduces shipbuilding Labor costs by 25%, down from 50%.

Fixes

Made tweaks to the DLL loading process to attempt to fix the "debug.dll too old" issue.
Fix for a bug that was causing Tinkers and Androids to suffer the 'Alien Rulers' morale penalty.
Opening and closing the tech pane should no longer reset the currently selected tech.
Made tweaks to the GLSL compiler to improve compatibility with Linux/Wine. (Wine compatibility remains officially unsupported/experimental.)

---------------------------------------------

Update 20752 (26th July 2017)

Changes

Revamped the Loading and AI Turns wait animations, and made changes to the graphics library so that star/planet/map animations will continue in the background (instead of freezing) during wait times.
Revamped the Load/Save dialog.
Increased the base resource yields of most alien native populations.
Reduced the cost of Bombers by one-third.
Increased the cost of Strike Fighters and added Antimatter as a prerequisite for the Multirole Fighters tech.
Increased the cost of Heavy Railguns and halved damage.
Deflector screens now absorb 50% of kinetic weapons damage, while Battle shields now absorb 70%.
Decreased the damage of Neutron Beams.
Ashdar Colonials fighter squadrons now have one additional fighter per Hangar module.
Increased the damage of Pulson Launchers from 35 to 50.
The technology 'Energy Torpedoes' is now called 'Plasma Projectiles' and requires Plasma Focusing.
Increased the research costs of all late game technologies.
Adjusted the wording in various resource descriptions to help clarify the distinction between the resource names (Labor, Science, Coin, Metal, Food) and the associated activities (Production, Research, Trading, Mining, Farming).

Fixes

Fixed a bug in the tactical weapon selection UI that prevented the first item in a ship's weapon list from being consistently selected when selecting a ship.
Fixed a glitch in the planet farming/food description text.
Fixed a few description text errors.
Added new UI scaling rules for very high resolution monitors, and changes to avoid blurriness on high DPI monitors.
Made improvements to GoG Galaxy achievement/stat error handling.
Updated the Visual Studio runtime libraries to the 2017 versions.
The 'simplified graphics' rendering mode is now enabled by default for all Intel HD 3000 and Radeon HD 7800 Series cards.

Special thanks to: The Almighty God of the PC Master Race, creator of all digital content and those boxes we call PC's.